Systems and methods for analyzing a respiratory parameter

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided that determine whether a patient is breathing irregularly. A system may receive a physiological signal, such as a plethysmographic signal or an end-tidal carbon dioxide signal, from a sensor. The system may analyze the signal for one or more features indicative of irregular breathing, which may be a result of a patient talking, moving, yawning, coughing, sneezing, or the like. The system may also be configured to provide an indication of the irregular breathing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, via a monitor, a physiological signal from a carbon dioxide sensor;   determining a respiration rate, via the monitor, from the physiological signal;   displaying the respiration rate on a display screen;   screening, via the monitor, the physiological signal for a characteristic indicative of talking;   recognizing, via the monitor, that the characteristic indicative of talking is present in the physiological signal;   in response to recognizing that the characteristic indicative of talking is present, removing the respiration rate from the display screen; and   displaying a talking indicator on the display screen.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein screening the physiological signal for the characteristic indicative of talking comprises identifying, via the monitor, two or more breath periods in a segment of the physiological signal. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein recognizing that the characteristic indicative of talking is present comprises determining, via the monitor, a spread of a distribution of the two or more breath periods and determining, via the monitor, that the spread of the distribution is greater than a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic indicative of talking comprises irregular periodicity of breath periods, asymmetric breath periods, short inhalations relative to exhalations, sharp inhalations, or irregular peaks of the physiological signal. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological signal comprises an end-tidal carbon dioxide signal. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the talking indicator comprises text, a symbol, or a graphic. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic indicative of talking comprises a sharp inhalation, a slow exhalation, or both. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising altering a display of a waveform of the physiological signal along segments in which the characteristic indicative of talking is present. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein altering the display of the waveform comprises changing a color, shading, or line quality. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein altering the display of the waveform comprises shading the display along the segments. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising receiving, via the monitor, a second physiological signal from a plethysmographic sensor, and wherein the screening comprises screening both the first and the second physiological signals for respective characteristics indicative of talking. 
     
     
         12 . A method for identifying talking interruptions in a respiratory signal, comprising:
 receiving, via a monitor, a physiological signal from a carbon dioxide sensor;   determining a respiration rate, via the monitor, from the physiological signal;   displaying the respiration rate on a display screen;   displaying on the display screen a waveform of respiration over time based on the physiological signal;   screening, via the monitor, the physiological signal for a characteristic indicative of talking;   recognizing, via the monitor, that the characteristic indicative of talking is present in the physiological signal;   in response to recognizing that the characteristic indicative of talking is present, displaying a talking indicator on the display screen; and   altering the display of the waveform along segments in which the characteristic indicative of talking is present.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the talking indicator comprises text, a symbol, or a graphic. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising removing the respiration rate from the display screen upon recognizing that the characteristic indicative of talking is present in the physiological signal. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the characteristic indicative of talking comprises short inhalations relative to exhalations. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the characteristic indicative of talking comprises sharp inhalations, slow exhalations, irregular peaks of the physiological signal, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . A method for identifying talking interruptions in a respiratory signal, comprising:
 receiving, via a monitor, a physiological signal from a carbon dioxide sensor;   determining a respiration rate, via the monitor, from the physiological signal;   displaying the respiration rate on a display screen;   detecting, via the monitor, sharp inhalations relative to slow exhalations in the physiological signal; and   in response to detecting the sharp inhalations relative to the slow exhalations, displaying a talking indicator on the display screen.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising removing the respiration rate from the display screen, upon detecting the sharp inhalations relative to the slow exhalations. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the talking indicator comprises text, a symbol, or a graphic. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising altering a display of a waveform of the physiological signal along segments in which the sharp inhalations relative to the slow exhalations are present.